Red Menaces and Green Men

Dr. Chase Cutler

Description:

Dr. Cutler is tall (6’ 5") and lanky with grey-white hair, prematurely so for a man who is in his mid-40s. He dresses in tailored suits that are beginning to get a little long in the tooth, giving him an air of genteel shabbiness. Cutler smokes cigarettes he carries in a silver case. Cutler drinks champagne cocktails and gin martinis but never to excess. Cutler has the fine manners of an Ivy-educated patrician New Englander. He is highly observant, reserved (some would say stand-offish) well-connected and knowledgeable in his fields-and beyond. While he is not adverse to small talk he is more guarded and observant. Cutler is most at home in the city though he has spent time in the countryside on archaeological digs and during the war. Cutler is fluent in many languages, both ancient and modern. In combat Cutler is cautious but able, favoring, when possible, small automatics for protection and an M1 Carbine when he knows there will be trouble. Cutler is a student of Judo and regularly practices in dojos when they are available or with individuals when a formal dojo is out of the question.

Bio:

Cutler was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, the son of an insurance executive. He graduated from Trinity College with a BA in Classics in 1929 and moved on to Columbia, which awarded him a Doctorate in Classics in 1936. Cutler began teaching at CUNY and, in 1939, landed a tenure track position at Yale.

Cutler was involved in the trade union movement and the Communist Party, USA during his time as a student and after, breaking with the Communists when they broke with FDR due to the Soviet Union’s alliance with Hitler. Cutler had seen what Italian Fascism and German Nazism was doing in Europe first hand when he was there doing research and participating in archaeological digs, and he became a dedicated Anti-Fascist. Cutler continued to teach at Yale until 1943, when he was recruited to join the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program. Given his expertise in Classical art, Cutler went to Italy with the 442nd Infantry Regiment. After some heavy action, Cutler found himself working to find German hoards of stolen art and archaeological objects. On one of these expeditions, Cutler and his colleagues found…something…that lead to him working not just with the MFAA but also with the Joint Paranormal Activities Working Group.

After the war, Cutler returned to his work as a Yale professor but also kept a hand in with the remaining MFAA men, continuing to locate and return stolen art pieces. This was excellent cover for his continuing JPAWG activities. When the split came, Cutler knew which side he wanted to remain on, seeing it as a moment not unlike when the Communist party switched to supporting HItler out of convenience. Unfortunately, back home there was trouble: the growing fear of Reds meant that Cutler’s past party membership was a huge liability. He was forced out of his position at Yale late in 1950 and with the final end of the MFAA’s activities he was out of government work as well. Cutler now takes adjunct positions where he can find them and where his past is not noticed; he continues to work for AEGIS missions as assigned.